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Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

When Restaurant Associates recruited Marcus Samuelsson to run the café at Alice Tully Hall, the chef wanted the grand lobby space to feel more casual and intimate—no small feat for a glass-walled atrium designed to be transparent and open. Architectural firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, which revamped the entire arts complex, made some tweaks: They adjusted the lighting so the seating section could be dimmed; installed new lounge-y furniture, a long communal couch, and rough-hewn tree-trunk tables; and extended the café outside to the plaza by distributing bright gel packs as impromptu step seating. The all-day menu, developed by Samuelsson and his right-hand man, Nils Norén, is eclectic Americana as reinterpreted by two expat Swedes, from smoked Caesar salad to taco doro wat. And the long bar remains where it was, now dispensing West Coast wines and cocktails conceived by drinks maven Eben Klemm.